Wake Me Up
by Live4Dance88
Summary: After the tragic death of her husband, Marcella and her son are forced to move from their nice house, to the 'abandoned' Shinra Mansion. Marcella finds herself haunted by someone's subconscious mind, but is he really that threatening? Will he ever wake up
1. The 'Abandoned' Mansion

Yeah... I know i have other stories out there that haven't been updated for a while, but I'm taking a break from them and hopefully someone will enjoy this story in the meantime. It'll be a shorter one though, probably only 11 more chapters.

It takes place before the events of DOC, however I don't really follow the game storyline that much.

Its RenoxOCxVincent and will probably have some M rated scenes later on. and I WILL update every Thurs.

also of course I dont own any FF characters and all that...

**Wake Me Up**

**1. The 'Abandoned' Mansion**

I stood in alone in the empty room. Rooms always did seem a million times bigger this way. Even the curtains had been tore down letting every bit of sunlight into the room, brightening its already luminous white walls. I felt a tug at my hand. I looked down into the face of my eight year old son. The sunlight seemed to set his bright red hair on fire with its light. It was hard looking into those sparkly blue green eyes because they reminded me so much of his father. Being it's only been a month since his death, the wounds are still fresh and each time I look into those eyes, I feel them being tore open once again.

"Are we going where dad is?" Ayden asked, pulling at my hand again. I refused to cry in front of my son. I'd made it thus far without doing so, and it will continue that way. I shook my head no. Ayden knew what death was, but I had yet to tell him that his father was gone as in dead and gone.

Ayden let go of my hand. "Then where?" he whined. I took one last glance around the room. I could almost see ghosts of Reno and I walking through the room. Cuddling on the couch, or chasing each other around the room with sharp objects ready to kill. There were too many memories in this house that I didn't want to let go just yet… But there was no choice. I had no job, no income, keeping this house was impossible.

I sighed quietly. "We're moving into a new house." I tried to sound cheerful. "Aren't you ready for a new room?" I looked down at him with a smile. He grinned back.

"Yeah!" He took off running towards the door. His footsteps echoed in the empty room. I turned away as well and walked to the door. As I placed my hand on the golden door handle, I turned one last time and looked at the empty house. "Goodbye." I whispered. I closed my eyes and could see Reno there kissing me before I left just like he used to.

A big truck sat in the driveway waiting for us. Ayden and I got into my small silver car and took off towards Nibelheim. An old abandoned mansion was the last resort for Ayden and I. It was owned by my step uncle Hojo and apparently I was the second to last living partial relative to him so the mansion did belong to me. Not that it was much of a prize, though. I'd been there before and had to leave after almost fainting from all the battling with fiends. Also, I'd heard so many horrible stories about what Hojo had done to his 'experiments' there. My father who is still alive and well, hated Hojo and claimed he was the step brother from hell. He wasn't happy about me taking over his old mansion, but he himself had nothing to offer me. After my mother's death he became a nomad and roamed the planet aimlessly as basically a voluntary homeless man.

"Are we there yet?" Ayden whined as he squirmed around in his seat.

"Just a few more minutes, sweetie." I said sending him a small smile.  
"What about Palo and Kyrie?" Ayden asked referring to his friends back home.

"I'm sure they're will be other kids to play with…" I knew that was a lie. The mansion was about a half mile away from the town of Nibelheim. The town it self had a dwindling population, so it was doubtful there would be other kids around for Ayden to play with. While enrolling him in the school a week ago, I was informed there were only eight other kids in Ayden's class.

Late in the afternoon, we finally arrived at the mansion. I saw Cloud and Tifa's car sitting outside of the gate. After Cloud finally got around to asking Tifa to marry him, they decided to move back to their hometown and raise their family here as well.

I stepped outside of the car and shivered slightly. Coming from warm, sunny Costa Del Sol, Nibelheim felt like an ice box. Tifa laughed when she saw me shiver.

"You could never visit the north continent." she joked as she and Cloud approached us. They followed us up to the gate where I put the ancient looking key in to open it. I joined Cloud, Tifa, Barrett, Cid and the gang five years ago on their quest to defeat Sephiroth. I was banished from their group for a while once they found out I was a Turk's fiancé, but later as we all realized we were fighting against the same enemy, we joined forces once again and have remained friends since then.

The four of us along with the mover guy stepped into the dusty old mansion. The fiends had been exterminated, but not much else had been done with the place. "Don't worry." Tifa placed a hand on my shoulder. "We'll get this place fixed up in no time. You know, Cloud and I are here for you. Anything I mean _anything _you need us to do, we'll do it."

I knew she had projects of her own that she wanted to start, and I really didn't want to take up her time, however for the next full week Tifa and Cloud were there at the mansion cleaning, scrubbing floors, painting and even donated some of their extra furniture and decorations for the house. After all their help, the place still looked a little creepy, but felt a bit more like home. Ayden was happy with his room and he now had his own play room across the hall. The young boy that was staying with the Strifes, Denzel who was now entering his preteens let Ayden have all his old toy race cars, tracks for the cars, and his helicopter.  
I sat with him in the room most of the day watching him play with his cars. He looked so much like his father, it hurt.

"Shhrrooom…" Ayden flew the helicopter around the room with the remote. His first day at his new school was tomorrow, so I hoped he was enjoying all his free time. I watched the bright red toy with yellow propellers circle around the room. Suddenly the toy turned directly towards me and dove straight down, hitting me in the shoulder. Ayden gasped. "Are you alright mommy? I didn't do it, I swear!"

I had to take a few deep breaths as horrible images of a helicopter crashing filled my mind. That… was how he died. I always knew he'd die flying one of those damn things. He was always so reckless.

"Mommy?" Ayden placed his small hand on my shoulder and shook me slightly. His fingers got tangled in my thick, dark waves of hair. Standing side by side, you'd never believe Ayden was of any relation to me. My mother was Wutain, and my dad born on an island off the coast of Costa Del Sol. I inherited pale skin and grey eyes from my mother, and wavy, thick black hair, and full lips from my father. I'd do anything to have the native pin straight Wutain hair. Also, the women from Costa Del Sol as well as the other minority groups on the islands were all very curvaceous, that gene didn't miss me either.

I jumped, as the helicopter moved again. Ayden looked down at the controller he'd stepped on. He seemed to have startled himself as well. "Why don't you start getting ready for bed, sweetie?"

He pouted at me, and I returned that look with a stern one followed by a smile as I ruffled his chin length red hair. "Ok…" he sighed loudly and went to room. I sat in the play room alone for a while, just thinking. Suddenly I began to feel as if I was being watched. The silence in the room got so deafening that I could hear my own heart beating loudly in my ears. I stood slowly and looked carefully around the room. I did notice that one of the walls looked a bit odd as if there was a passage or door behind it. I did know this place had a basement that was sealed off, maybe that used to be the door to the basement, I told myself.

I turned to leave the room. I gasped loudly as my foot collided with the helicopter remote, sending the toy in the air again. I quickly took my foot off the controller and watched as the toy hovered for a while uncontrolled. After a few more seconds it fell, the propeller slid across the floor. I swallowed hard. Just a damn toy… I hurried out of the room and shut the door behind me. Instantly the feeling I had before of being watched faded and I settled down. I made sure Ayden was in bed and then retreated to bed myself. I turned to my side and looked at the picture beside my bed. I held it in my hands and stared at it for a long time. The three of us all had big smiles on our faces. Nothing could be any better for us, then. So why…why did this have to happen?

_(Flash back)_

_"Marcie!!" Reno yelled through the house. He was home early today, which was unusual. Even when he did get off work early he always took that time to go have a drink with his buddies._

_"What are you doing home this early?" I asked looking up at the clock._

_He swooped me up in his arms and placed a hard wet one on my lips. "…was thinking bout you at work and got so horny I thought I'd come home and…"_

_"Shh!! Reno!" I looked around to see if Ayden was in sight. Reno laughed devilishly and proceeded to strip me nearly naked in the living room. I ran from him until we ended up in the bedroom._

_We laid next to each other after making love. "I was promoted today. I'll be flying shit out now from here to Junon three times a week."_

_"Really?" That'd be three days a week I wouldn't see him. He nodded._

_"I get a weeks vacation before that, though. My request." he laughed loudly. I rolled my eyes at him._

_"You're lucky to still have that job…"_

_(end)_

The sound of that melodious laugh still filled my ears. I sighed as I placed the picture back on the night stand and turned out the light. One would think sleeping alone would be the worst part of losing a loved one, but Reno was an exception. He was the noisiest, roughest sleeper on the Planet, but I did miss the rare moments when he did sleep peacefully beside me, holding me close. I honestly missed the annoying way he'd randomly grope me through the night if he happened to wake up. At the thought of that, I swore I felt a hand on my thigh. I sat up quickly and peered around in the dim lighted room. Though there were so many trees outside by the windows, the moonlight still managed to peer its way into the room lighting it faintly. That feeling came over me again and my heart raced. The feeling was so strong I almost wanted to call out to whatever was in the room with me, because there was definitely something in here. I would have to call Tifa about finding a medium to come here and check this out.

I laid back down and squeezed my eyes shut trying to sleep. My eyes snapped back open as I felt fingertips trace my leg from my ankle to my hip. "Whose there?" I whispered. My heart really began to pound when I began to wonder if it was _him._ "Is that you?" I asked.

_Marcella._ Though the voice didn't sound aloud, I knew I heard it.

I shot up and switched on the lamp. That voice… it wasn't him. My throat went so dry that I could barely swallow. What was that voice?! And...how did it know my name?! I hurried out of my new bedroom and down the grand stair case to the kitchen. I looked at the digital clock on the stove. It was only a little after midnight. Tifa and Cloud were late nighters, they'd probably still be awake, I thought. After downing a glass of water, I picked up the phone and called them.

The line was completely silent for half a minute after I dialed their number. I held onto the phone with a shaky hand ready to hang up. I screamed as I heard a voice on the other end. "Marcie? What's wrong? Helloooo?"

"Tifa?" I asked. I calmed down and took a seat at the table. "Tifa this house is haunted. Either that or I'm being watched." I could barely steady my voice, I was so shaken up.

"Calm down." I heard rustling in the background and then her telling Cloud that she was going to come over here. "Ok, Marce, I'm on my way."

"Hurry." I said before hanging up. I placed my face in my hands and took a few deep breaths. I was already breaking out in a cold sweat. I took a quick look around the kitchen. My head turned sharply towards the fridge as the ice maker kicked on dropping ice into the bucket. As soon as I turned my head back I heard what sounded like a sigh inches away from my ear. I covered my ears.

"Mommy?"

I turned and saw Ayden sitting next to me. The sigh was only him yawning. I let out a deep sigh of my own. "Yes, baby?"

"I can't sleep." he looked tired. I held him close to me and ran my fingers through his hair.

"You can sleep with mommy tonight, ok? I can't sleep either." I laughed softly. We stood up together and walked into the main room with the grand staircase. There was a knock at the door, knowing it was Tifa, I answered it quickly.

"Sorry Tifa, I just panicked, but we're ok now." I said with a sad smile. She seemed a bit shaken herself. "What did you see?" I asked her immediately.

She shook her head quickly as if snapping herself out of whatever daze she was in. "Nothing, nothing. Alright, well I'll call around and see if I can't get someone to come by and check things out for you, ok? No doubt, after all the crazy things Hojo did in this place, its probably crawling with bad energy."

I nodded in agreement. "Thanks for coming by."

"Anytime. See you tomorrow!" she waved.

"Bye." I stood at the door and watched to make sure she got to her car ok. After seeing her take off I closed the door. Ayden and I went to my bedroom and both of us fell asleep almost instantly, not bothered once for the rest of the night.


	2. Dreams and Reality

**2. Dreams and Reality**

The very next evening Tifa found a medium to come and inspect the house. After hours of walking around the entire mansion swinging her pendant, her declaration simply was that there was a negative energy in the house, but it didn't mean any harm. She said it was more of a frustrated negative energy than the usual angry negative energy ghosts or demons emit. In other words, she was basically no help. That night the same intense feeling of being watched consumed both me and Ayden. It was strongest in the playroom, so Ayden had moved some of his toys into my bedroom where we both spent all our time outside of his schooling.

I stood in the kitchen alone frying eggs for breakfast. Ayden was in one of the sitting rooms watching TV. The smallest sitting room on the first floor was where the feeling was the least intense. I had a feeling that Ayden and I would end up sleeping on the pull out couch in there eventually.

I heard a clicking noise and then suddenly the fire under the skillet went out. I quickly tried to turn the knob to start it again. I screamed as the fire nearly exploded in my face. I backed away quickly, untouched by the flames. Just as I was about to fan the fire with the towel behind me, it went out again. I reached for the skillet, and watched as the skillet turned so that the handle was just behind my reach. I took another step towards the stove and quickly and firmly grabbed the handle. I looked around the room.

"Please stop." I whispered.

The fire on the stove returned to its normal intensity. I turned it off for good and proceeded with making breakfast. After that experience, I knew there was no way I'd make it all day in the house alone so after driving Ayden to school, I stopped by the abandoned building in town that Tifa was making into her new bar.

"Hey, Cloud." I said as I walked inside. He was standing in the corner measuring a piece of wood.

"Oh, hey. Its everything alright?" He asked, taking his focus off his job. I nodded. He seemed to be unconvinced.

"There's something in that house, Cloud." I said seriously. I cursed softly as I felt myself ready to cry. Cloud put down the board he was measuring and walked over to me placing his hand on my shoulder.

"Tifa said you guys took care of that." he said stroking my shoulder softly.

"It's still there…watching. This morning I was cooking eggs on the stove, it…it… I swear it tried to burn me." Tears rolled down my cheeks and I quickly wiped them away. It wasn't the house that I was this upset about, it was the fact that Reno wasn't here to protect me. No ghost in a house would scare him, and with him by my side, Ayden and I were sure to be safe.

Tifa came in through the front door carrying a bar stool. "Look what I found in the dumpster!! Good as knew! Oh…what's wrong Marcie?" She pushed the bar stool aside and walked over to me. Cloud removed his hand from my shoulder and got back to work.

"There's still something in that house. That lady said it didn't mean any harm, but I'm not sure…" I wiped away the rest of my tears and let out a deep sigh. "Is there anything I can help you with? I just need to stop thinking about it."

Tifa stared at me a while before nodding. "Let's go shopping around for some more bar stools. They don't have to all look identical. I'm going to have them all painted red anyways." She smiled cheerfully. I knew Tifa understood why I didn't want to sit around. She was the same way a few years ago when Cloud left to clear his head. She was so sure back then that he'd never come back, but luckily for her he did. Instead of moping around she and I were constantly on the go.

The day went by quickly despite the lack of success in finding cheap bar stools. After picking Ayden up from school it was time to return to that house.

I hovered over Ayden as he did his math problems. He was smart kid, just like his father. Reno was always highly intelligent, but he never applied himself to anything.

"Why did dad leave us?" He asked suddenly. I knew that question had been on his mind, but I just couldn't bring myself to answer it. He looked up at me, waiting for me to answer.

"Sweetie, your dad is always going to be with you." I said stroking his red hair, with a smile. "We just can't see him."

He sighed softly and continued with his homework. He worked for another hour before I decided it was bed time. I laid with him for a while until he was asleep before leaving the bedroom to shower myself. The shower nearly ancient and there were so many knobs to turn to make sure the water came out just right. After setting the water to the right temperature I stood in the shower for a while letting the water massage my back. For a while, I was so lost in my own little world I wasn't even worried about being in this haunted house. I opened my eyes quickly remembering just where I was. I shuddered as I felt a cool breeze and turned towards the beige colored shower curtain. I muffled a scream and flew back against the wall hitting my head hard enough for me to lose consciousness.

_I__ opened my eyes to find myself in the Sleeping Forest._

_"Marcella."_

_I spun around at the sound of that deep voice. I gasped. A man stood there. He was very tall with messy black hair that reached his chin. His eyes were a dark red and his skin was nearly as white as the trees. He walked up to me like he knew me. My eyes traveled down his body and I recognized his attire as a Turk suit._

_"Who are you?" I asked taking a step back and placing some of my hair behind my ear nervously. "And how do you know my name?"_

_"The demon told me. Chaos. Marcella you have to help me." He reached out to touch me, but his hand merely went through mine. I gasped and turned to run. He appeared in front of me._

_"Don't, I won't hurt you. Please…" he begged but I continued to run. I ran through him several times as he tried to stop me. Suddenly I came upon a pond. I tripped over a stone and landed face first into the water. My feet seemed to weigh a ton as I quickly descended through the water. I struggled, but couldn't stop myself from sinking lower and lower. I began to run out of breath. My lungs ached as I continued to hold my breath for as long as I could.  
_  
I gasped and wiped the water from my face. Cold water from the shower beat down on me. I reached up and turned all the knobs off and got out of the shower still very short of breath. I snatched a towel off the shelf and ran out of the bathroom back into my bedroom as if it were a safe zone. Ayden sat up in bed wiping his tired eyes. "Mommy?" he asked.

"Yes honey?"

"Were you running from the man?" he asked me. I was shocked at first, but then I couldn't think of why. I remembered being knocked out in the shower, but for nothing in this world could remember the dream I had. I pressed my fingers to my temple trying to remember it. I always did have problems remembering dreams, unless they were extremely good ones.

"What man?" I asked discretely keeping myself covered with the towel while putting on my pajama pants. I turned my back to throw on a shirt as well before turning back to my son.

"The man in the blue suit." Ayden said. An image flashed through my mind. It must be him, I thought. The ghost that's haunting this place. I shook my head.

"No, I wasn't running from anyone. There is no man in any blue suit, sweetie, you must have just had a bad dream." I patted his red head and laid down next to him.

"He knows my name and yours. He knows where dad is. Dad joined the life stream didn't he? That man showed me. I asked him if he could bring him back, but he didn't say anything." Ayden started speaking excitedly, but his mood dropped by the end of his last sentence.

I sighed. "It's was just a dream, Aid, go back to bed you have school tomorrow."

He laid back down and I heard him murmur. "She doesn't believe me."

If there was a man here, I certainty didn't appreciate his blunt honesty to my eight year old son. The life stream was too complex an idea for him to understand yet. I still don't understand it at the age of twenty four. I sighed thinking that maybe it was about time I explained death to him. I'd been raised in a sheltered family and didn't understand the concept of death until I was nearly thirteen years old. My parents thought that childhood, no matter what, shouldn't never be tainted with such depressing thoughts. In a way they believed in the ignorance is bliss theory.

After a while I felt myself falling asleep.

_"Marcella."_

_I looked around to see myself in the den of the house. However, it looked much different from how I'd redecorated it. Very oldfashioned indeed. _

_I turned to see him again. The man in the Turk suit. _

_"Please, listen to me."_

_"Stop bothering us!" I screamed turning away from him. He moved towards me and hovered over my shoulder. He wrapped his arms around my waist, but I easily broke through them. _

_"I won't hurt you, I promise. The demon will if you don't listen to me." I could hear the agitation in his voice, but despite that I ran away. This is just a dream. Just a weird dream... I ran through the door and into the hallway. All the wood floors looked vibrant and glossy unlike how they did now. I kept running until I came to a window. I turned to see the man following me. I turned and leaped through the window. I fell faster and faster, I could feel my stomach dropping uncomfortably, but there was nothing for me to grab onto to stop myself from falling. Until a pair of arms caught me. "Reno?!" _

_He faded away immediately and I landed on a warm bed._

I opened my eyes to see daylight peering through the curtains. Ayden was still dead to the world, snoring like his father used to.

_"Marcella"_ I heard a voice whisper. A cool breeze swept past me. I shivered and shook my head. I am going to have to find a job so I can afford to move. Since I was affraid to use the stove again, I woke Ayden up a bit earlier and we ate together at the local restaurant in town. It looked a little shabby from the outside, but their pancakes were nothing short of heaven. The restaurant was a mere three buildings away from the school so Ayden and I walked there together. Suddenly a little boy jumped out in front of us.

"Heeey, aren't you the people that moved into the Shinra Mansion. Didja know years ago there was a man put to sleep in the basement? Rumor has it, he still sleeps there, ya know. My papa said so." The boy appeared to be quite snobbish and I was ready to just brush him off before his next comment.

"He was a Turk assigned there to supervise one of Hojo's expirements. My papa was his partner."

A Turk..., the man in our dreams... I swallowed hard. "And...uh who's your father?"

The boy smirked. "Wouldn't you like ta know. I'm almost late for school!" he ran off leaving us in his dust. Ayden let go of my hand and followed him, leaving me to stand alone and think.

My dream last night, I remembered it. Part of me felt bad for not hearing the man out. I slapped my forehead and shook my head. What is wrong with me?! I guess intense grief really can drive you crazy. He and Ayden seem to know each other, I wondered if maybe Ayden had mentioned to him about the man in the blue suit. He looked like a little brat he was probably just trying to scare me. If the man was sleeping, how could he haunt a house?


	3. Avoidance

**3. Avoidance**

The next two weeks were surprisingly normal at the mansion, with an exception of the cool breeze I kept feeling. Each time it swept by I heard him whisper my name. Despite all my efforts to completely deny the idea of a sleeping man haunting this house, I was beginning to wonder… Tifa suggested that in order to make the mansion a little less creepy I needed to continue to decorate and remove as many of the items in the house as possible. As the medium before also told us, sometimes individual objects themselves could be the source of a haunting. I threw out paintings, vases, I even did some garden work outside. I removed many of the vines that had crawled their way up the house and planted some rose bushes. This may sound like a ton of work, but I was willing to do anything to keep myself busy, to keep myself from thinking too much.

I laid in bed alone tonight. Ayden felt comfortable enough to sleep in his own bed. Since his father's death, I've noticed him changing a lot. He was straying away from the 'momma's boy' he used to be. I could tell he was still scared of whatever it was haunting this place, but despite that he refused to spend another night in 'mommy's' bed. I heard the wind this time before I felt it so in an attempt to avoid it I rolled to the side, away from it.

_Marcella_

This time it sounded much clearer. I snapped my head to the right half expecting to see a man lying next to me. There was nothing. I pulled the covers up over my head and pressed my face into the pillow. I spent what seemed like hours lying that way until I finally fell asleep.

_I walked around in what looked like a science lab. I spun around quickly as I heard aggressive footsteps coming my way. I looked up to see the Turk rushing towards me angrily, but he seemed to be looking through me._

"_Talk!" He growled. "Why did you let this happen?!"_

_I gasped as he passed right through me, I turned around to see no one other than Hojo standing there. He appeared to be amused by the Turk. I stood right behind the Turk watching the two men eye each other for a brief moment. Hojo's amused look faded. "Silence." I now knew why my father always called him the stepbrother from hell. _

_I looked down to see the Turks hands ball into fist and could almost hear his teeth gritting. "You…!"_

"_Silence!" Hojo yelled swiftly removing a gun from his lab coat. I screamed and covered my ears as a gunshot rang out. The Turk dropped to his knees and eventually his head hit the hard wood floors. I kept my ears covered long after the gun shot. I couldn't stand the choking noises the Turk on the floor made as he struggled to keep consciousness. Finally my feet took control and I fled the scene. As I ran through the house I could still hear Hojo's voice as he declared himself a genius and spoke aloud what he intended to do with the Turks body. Then he began to laugh… louder and louder until I felt my head literally about to explode. I dropped to my knees and pressed my hands harder against my ears but the laughter only got louder. I screamed as loud as I could._

"Mom! Wake up!" I looked up to see Ayden standing above me shaking me.

"We gotta save him! The man in the blue suit, he's in trouble! He needs our help!" He yelled while shaking me.

"Stop, sweetie. No ones in trouble, these are just nightmares." I said, not only to comfort my son but reassure my own self. I rubbed my temple a couple of times trying to rub the images out of my head.

"No! Look! He gave me this!" He held up a small gold key. "He's locked up downstairs in the basement." His blue green eyes were lit up with excitement. Just like his father would, I knew Ayden saw this as an adventure. I sighed, ready to crush his hopes of an adventure.

"There's nothing in the basement, honey. They cleared it out and sealed it off years ago." I sat up in bed and patted him lightly on the shoulder. He moved away from my touch and shoved the key in my face.

"No! He gave me this key!!" His voice screeched in frustration.

I took the key from his hand. In that same moment I felt the wind only this time it was stronger and much colder.

_Marcella, please!_

I shuddered. That voice was real. I may be able to deny it to Ayden, but I could no longer deny to myself that I hadn't heard it.

"You felt it, didn't you? It's him, momma." Ayden said in a much more gentle tone. He continued. "He needs our help."

I cleared my throat. "Ayden, honey come on, I'll get breakfast started. You need to start getting ready for school." I threw the covers aside and got out of bed.

"It's Saturday." He said matter of factly.

I sighed again and grabbed a hair tie off my dresser pulling my unruly curly hair into a high ponytail. "Well then let's hurry and eat so we can go outside and finish fixing the yard. If we get it cleared out we could put a trampoline back there and maybe even a pool, if I can afford it." I was finished talking about that man. Until he shows himself to me face to face while I'm awake, I refused to believe in him. …or at least believe his stories.

After breakfast I threw on a pair of old ripped up jeans and a grey T-shirt and headed outside to continue yard work. Ayden said he'd rather stay in his play room. Ayden had now begun to spend a lot of his time there alone. Two weeks ago he was scared to death to enter that room alone after he claimed his toys were playing on their own. I realized this so called 'man in our dreams' had gained Ayden's trust. I ripped away aggressively at the weeds. As if losing Reno wasn't bad enough... Now I'm losing my son to a damn ghost! I continued to furiously snatched away at the weeds. I gasped as suddenly one of the weeds wrapped around my wrist and yanked me to the ground. I pulled my wrist back only for the week to pull just as hard.

"Stop! Please!" I cried softly as I lay on the dirt covered ground. My whole left arm was caked with dirt. I felt the weeds slowly unwrap itself from around my wrist only to be replaced with the sensation of a masculine hand there. I looked up quickly, but saw no one. I looked down at my hand. The sensation faded. I look out around what would be a huge yard once it was cleaned up. As I gazed around a dark shadow caught my eye. It quickly disappeared _under_ the house.

I dusted off my dirty arm and went back inside to clean up. After taking a shower, I went into the kitchen to start gathering things for dinner, only to find there was hardly anything to eat. I walked upstairs and slowly tiptoed towards Ayden's playroom.

I opened the door to see him sitting at the table coloring. My eyes almost popped out of my head as I saw the details of the drawing. It was off a beautiful woman with long, golden locks and light blue eyes. "Ayden!" I snatched the picture away from him causing the crayon to mark a purple line down the entire picture. He was in the process of coloring her blouse.

"Mom stop! You ruined it!" He reached out for it but I turned away from him out of his reach. I continued to stare at the picture.

"I'm sorry sweetie, I just didn't realize you could draw that well. Who is she?" I returned the picture to him only for him to crumple it up and throw it aside.

"I don't know." He answered. "Does it matter? You won't believe me anyway." He stood up and stormed out of the room.

"You wait, young man! We're going to town for dinner tonight." I walked towards him. He sighed and kept walking.

"I'm not hungry." He snapped. I sighed loudly.

"We'll you're not staying here by yourself. Is that what you're wearing out? If so, let's go. We'll go by Cloud's and Tifa's next. Denzel's there. You guys could go bike riding or something." I crossed my arms and put my foot down.

Ayden rolled his eyes, but nevertheless agreed to go. He would be nine years old in a few months. I'm not sure I'm looking forward to him getting any older. I began to wonder how I would handle a rebellious young boy without a man in the house.

After a quite dinner at the diner, we did indeed go over to Cloud and Tifa's. Denzel took Ayden out on his bikes while the adults sat inside and talked.

I told them about the dreams and about the key the man supposedly gave Ayden.

Cloud examined the key closely. "It looks like an old coffin key. Hey Teef, remember five years ago… while searching for Sephiroth, we came across a few keys like this that unlocked some of the coffins in the basement. Yuffie was with us, I'm pretty sure she searched every one of the coffins looking for materia."

Tifa took the key from him then nodded. "Yeah…"

"I don't know why I'm freaking out; I know they cleared the basement. Surely they would not have missed a huge coffin." I said with a laugh.

Cloud shrugged. "These lazy workers today…"

Tifa nodded in agreement. "That's true. Why don't we investigate? I mean there's no use in sitting around wondering what's there and what's not, let's just look for ourselves." She handed the key back to me. I put it in my jean's pocket.

That sounded like a good idea, but I wasn't really thrilled about doing it. _If_ there was a man down there, I've already upset him by trying to ignore him. _If _it was him haunting the house, he's already threatened me twice. Once with the stove, and again in the garden. Would I really want to come face to face with him?


	4. The Sleeping Man

**The Sleeping Man**

I straightened my hair for the first time in a long time. I had no idea it was this long, I thought looking at my straighter locks in the mirror with my head tilted back. Reno always made me feel beautiful no matter how nappy my hair looked so I never bothered to straighten it. However, today I was applying for a job down at the boutique. The needed a sales representative to travel to different cities once a month to help spread around their designs. Appearance seemed to be high on their list so I was doing all I could to look my absolute best. I smoothed my hands down my red sweater dress before tying the thick banded black belt around my waist. The last touch was putting on the knee high black boots and I was off to town. Ayden had already gone to school earlier this morning.

"So did you get the job?!" Tifa asked excitedly as I walked into their house. Cloud was cleaning his sword right there in the living room.

"They'll call me…" I said. The doubt that I would actually get the job must have been evident in my face. Tifa patted my shoulder lightly.

"You'll get it. Hey, we're gonna investigate tonight! Cloud's leaving tomorrow; he has a few deliveries to make all the way in Gongaga." I noticed her gloves were on as well. Knowing they were ready to fight for my safety made me feel a little bit better. I only smiled and nodded at Tifa. After leaving their house, I picked up Ayden from school and headed home.

()

I made Ayden stay inside while the three of us walked outside around the house. We were looking for a way into the basement. Cloud pushed back some weeds, revealing a hidden door that was barred shut. He drew out his Buster Sword and struck fiercely at the door. It was only enough to crack the bars so he continued, each time omitting a loud clank. Finally the bars broke and Cloud kicked the hidden door open making way for us to enter the basement. If you could call it a basement, it was merely dirt walls and floors.

"Whoa! This place is a freakin land mind!" Tifa screamed as we turned a corner and saw a line of explosive barrels against a wall.

Cloud didn't acknowledge her but kept forward as if he had some kind of hunch on where something might be. I looked at the barrels and back at Tifa.

"Let's just hope there's never a fire…" Let's just hope I get this job and can afford a normal house of my own… I thought to myself. I didn't want Tifa offering her place to Ayden and I. Her and Cloud still being newlyweds didn't need our company. So I never wanted to give her any hint that I had no intentions of staying here.

Tifa and I followed close behind Cloud as we explored other areas of the basement, so far the barrels were the only things left behind. Cloud kicked open a door and led us into another empty room. There was an imprint on the floor that looked exactly like a coffin. "Not this one…" Cloud muttered to himself. We turned around out of that room and walked across the area to another room. Cloud again kicked open the door as if it wouldn't open normally… and there it was.

I gasped and took two steps back. "Dear gods…"

Tifa quickly went to Cloud's side and looked down at the black coffin. "Zack told me a long time ago that he found a coffin here with a man sleeping in it. I thought he was just messing with me… I was so gullible back then. But when I saw this coffin key… I was almost sure what he said was true…" Cloud had pulled the key from his pocket and held it in the air examining it again.

"C..Cloud, maybe we should just leave him sleeping…"

"Ayden said he's been trying to reach you, maybe he wants to be awaken." Cloud said lowering the key to the whole.

"Wait! How do we know this isn't just a trap! He's lured us down here and…"

Cloud patted his sword. "We're well prepared aren't we?"

I saw Tifa tighten her fist. I pulled my two diamond plated daggers out and held them up. I swallowed hard as Cloud slowly turned the key until the coffin lid slightly popped open. I shut my eyes as I saw Cloud begin to lift the lid off. I heard Tifa gasp.

I slowly opened my eyes and literally screamed. "A demon!!" The scent of demon filled the air along with the scent of gun powder, and musty old wood. However, the form inside the coffin remained motionless. Tifa grabbed my shoulder as if to calm me down. I nearly stabbed her in the process. I took a small step closer to examine the body. "That's not the man in our dreams…"

This man had long black hair and skin so pale it looked almost blue. Had it not been for the slow rise and fall of his chest I'd say we'd found a corpse. His lips were so dry and cracked as if they hadn't been moistened for years. Across his chest laid a gold claw then seemed to trying to clench his heart. He looked nothing like the Turk I'd seen.

Cloud nudged Tifa. "Touch him." He said.

"No! Cloud! You do it!" She pushed him towards the coffin. He cleared his throat. "I'm sure he'd rather have a woman putting her hands on him…" he muttered looking up at me.

My heart dropped into my feet. I shook my head no. Tifa stood close to me. "On three." She simply said. She took my hand in hers and counted. "One…" She lowered our hands towards him. "Two…" My fingers began to tingle as they came within a millimeter of the gold claw. "Three." Tifa shook his shoulder lightly while my hand rested over his gold one. I took in a sharp breath and closed my eyes again expecting the worse.

"Hey, hey!" I heard Tifa yell. I opened my eyes to see her continuing to shake him, but receiving no response. I pushed at his gold claw again. Tifa then bent down sticking her head in the coffin with him and yelled right in his ear. That didn't work either. "Kiss him, Cloud." She said jokingly. Cloud sent her a glare.

A small laugh escaped my lips. My and Tifa's jaws both dropped when we seen Cloud lean forward towards the man. Instead of kissing him like we were both assuming he was about to do, he attempted to lift the man from the coffin.

"A little help?" he asked turning to Tifa. She raised her eyebrow at him. He sighed loudly. "At the very least, let's get him out of the house."

When he and Tifa lifted the man into a sitting position, I got a look at him from a different angle. Maybe it was the man…

"Marcie…" Tifa turned to me.

I hurried forward and grabbed one of his legs as we hurled him out of the coffin and onto the floor. A severe cold chill shook me. It was pretty drafty down here so I brushed it off, not thinking much of it. Cloud bent forward and Tifa helped maneuver the man onto Cloud's back.

_Marcella…_ I heard the voice again. I automatically turned and looked at the man on Cloud's back. I chose not to say anything and followed Cloud as he carried the man outside and gently placed him down on the ground. In the light I could tell it was him…

Cloud wiped his forehead with the back of his arm and leaned up against the house for a while resting himself. Tifa stared down at the man. "What are we going to do with him?" She poked him in the cheek a few times.

Cloud shrugged. "We could put him in the guest house for now. When I come back from Gongaga we'll investigate a bit more. Maybe there's some answers somewhere… If he's a specimen of Hojo's, there's a report somewhere. That man never did anything without writing a report."

Tifa shifted uncomfortably. I could tell she didn't want to have to deal with what this cursed man might bring with him. I sighed. I'd dealt with it this long, what's another week. "Just leave him here for now, Cloud. I'll look around on my own and find something out."

"Are you sure, Marcie? If you ever have trouble, don't hesitate to call me." Tifa said quickly. I simply nodded with a slight smile on my face. All of our eyes then traveled back to the man.

"Where do you want him?" Cloud asked casually as if this man was some sort of decoration.

"The guest room across from my bedroom." I answered quietly. It was the farthest room from Ayden's. Ayden seemed to have more of a connection with this man than anyone. And if he meant harm, I didn't want him anywhere near my son.

()

Cloud indeed dumped the man in the bed of the guest bedroom and that's where he lay for the next couple of days. Nothing abnormal happened outside of the occasional whisperings of my name. Occasionally I'd peer in on the man and he hadn't seemed to move a muscle. I never said a word to Ayden about how the man was in the guest room. I kept the door shut and locked from the outside so he wouldn't have a chance of barging in on him.

I sat on the side of the bathtub shaving my legs after a shower. The entire room was still filled with steam. I hummed quietly to myself to help break the deafening silence in the room. My humming broke off quickly as I thought I heard a squeaking noise. I looked around me but saw nothing. As soon as I got back to work on my leg, I heard the noise again. I looked up to see two lines on the mirror that looked as if they were made by fingers. My eyes widened as I watched the marks continue until the words 'Wake me' were spelled out. I swallowed hard and the razor slid from my unsteady fingers hitting the bathtub floor.

_Please…_

"Stop it!" I yelled. "Please just leave me alone." I whispered hoping Ayden hadn't heard my outburst. I felt ice cold hands squeeze my shoulder and a cool breeze on my neck.

_Please... _The voice begged. I turned my head to see no one there. I then felt a cold hand in mine pulling me. I yanked my hand back. "Don't touch me…" I whispered. I heard a slight rattle in the bathtub and as soon as I looked down the razor flew at my face cutting my chin before landing across the room in the sink. I secured the towel that was wrapped around me and bolted. Tears streamed down my face joining the blood before dripping off my chin. I rushed into my bedroom and threw on some clothes and shoes. I hurried to Ayden's bedroom and flipped on the light switch.

"Ayden?!" I cried when I saw his sheets pulled back and his bed empty. I turned around and froze at what I saw. The man… or a translucent ghost of him in his Turk suit stood there staring at me. His eyes glowed a gold color. I swallowed hard and took a step back. "Where's my son?" I asked in a quivering voice.

The man's body jerked disturbingly and he made a chocking noise before falling to his knees and crying out. I watched as wings broke out of his back and his entire body took on a form of a demon. That nearly sent me under Ayden's bed. I crouched down in a corner shielding my face. I held myself tighter as I felt a strong breeze blow by me. I looked up to see the ghost creature fly out of the window.

It was quiet then and I heard footsteps in the hallway. Ayden appeared at the door with a glass of water. I stood up quickly and brushed myself off as if nothing was wrong. I sent him a smile. "There you are."

"What's wrong?" he asked in a gentle voice.

"Nothing sweetie, I just came in to check on you… I thought I heard something." I ran my fingers through my wet hair a few times. "Sleep tight, honey. Tomorrow we'll eat out for breakfast before school, ok?" I ruffled his hair playfully as I walked past him towards the door.

"Good night, mom. …and don't worry he won't hurt you, not if you just listen." He spoke so maturely, so unlike himself. I simply nodded before turning around and hurrying towards my bedroom. I grabbed the key to the guest room and unlocked the door. I moved quickly towards the lamp to light the dark room. The man was still there, still in the same unchanged position. My eyes travelled from his face, down his body and then to the fingertips of his leather gloves. I noticed something white. I leaned forward and lifted the leather clad hand. Shaving cream…

"It is you." I whispered to him.


	5. Emotions

A/N: Yeah I totally skipped last Thursday! But I made it this time!

**Emotions**

I sat across from Ayden at the table in the diner. We were eating out for breakfast like I'd promised the previous night. I looked up and noticed Ayden staring at my cut chin. "Eat your food, sweetie."

"He said to tell you he was sorry. He didn't mean it." He said not taking his eyes off me or making any move to eat his untouched pancakes.

I sighed and let out a fake laugh. "Is that so? Well, honey you better hurry and eat. You have to be at school in fifteen minutes."

"It's the demon that makes him do things like that." Ayden continued. He picked up his fork and slowly began to eat. Demon?! I sighed again and held my cool hand to my forehead. Why…why was this happening?! I swallowed hard and tried my best not to lose it in front of my son. Something _has_ to be done.

I walked down the road to Tifa's place and noticed she had a sign in the window that said open. I walked in there to see that there was indeed a customer inside. Tifa was chatting with the older man as he drank. "Oh, hi Marcie!" she greeted waving wildly.

"Hey." I said softly forcing a light smile.

"Well, how is…you know, everything." She said purposely excluding the man at the table from the actual topic she was asking about.

I gave her a wide-eyed look that meant it hadn't got any better if not worse.

"As soon as Cloud get's back we'll move it here. Maybe once we get it out of there, things will be a little easier for you." She said with a smile.

I nodded. I really didn't want to throw my problem off on her and Cloud though…

()

After stopping by Tifa's, I returned to the house. I was determined to put an end to this madness. I'm tired of him using my son; if he truly wants our help he can confront me from now on. If he wants to talk, I'm willing to listen now. I took my shoes off by the door and quickly ran upstairs to the guest bedroom. I barged in there with my head held high ready to handle business. There he was… I shut the door behind me and dropped to my knees beside the bed. "What is it you want? I'm here… I'm listening."

There was complete silence for the longest time until I felt the cold hand on my forearm. My eyelids suddenly became heavy and I was literally dragged into slumber.

_I looked around to see myself standing in a pitch black room. "Boo!" someone yelled from behind me. As I spun around the room illuminated and I saw Reno standing there. We were in our bedroom._

"_Reno?" I asked. _

"_Are you scared, babe?" he asked giving me a taunting grin. I stared at him in disbelief. "Don't be. Nobody's gonna hurt my baby." He looked past me and I turned to see what he was looking at. _

_The Turk stood in our bedroom frowning at me. I turned back to look at Reno, but he was gone…_

_I faced the Turk again. He glided across the room at me with a single step. _

"_What do you want from us?" I asked him. He closed his eyes and let out a long, slow sigh._

_He reached out and tried to take my hands but couldn't. He looked up into my eyes and then very slowly_

_opened his jacket and placed a hand over his chest._

My eyes flew open and landed on the sleeping man in front of me. I tried quickly to remember all the details of the dream. All I could remember was seeing the Turk with his hand over his chest. I looked down at the man's chest. Hesitantly with a shaky hand I pressed my hand down against the leather clothing on his chest, just under the crimson cape he wore. I could feel his heartbeat… I looked back at what I could see of his face. He still wore the pained expression we'd found him with. My heart rate increased as I felt his heart pounding against my palm. Up until now, I'd viewed him more as a thing and not as a person. But now I realized this was a living, breathing, human man here! I swallowed hard before removing my hand. "I still don't understand…what do you want me to do? Can't you just wake up and tell me?" I leaned on the bed and rested my head in my arms just a few inches from his side. I closed my eyes hoping to be dragged back into slumber again for more clues, but sleep wouldn't come. I found myself reflecting back on my relationship with Reno instead.

He would know what to do if he was here… I rolled my eyes to myself. If he was still here I wouldn't even have to be in this hell house. I massaged my temple as I tried to hold back the tears. That worked for a good five minutes before the tears finally fell. Once the first two dropped, it was like a dam broke and a flood began. I cried harder than I did when I first heard the news. I cried until I could no longer breathe out of my nose and until I could barely see straight.

_Marcella…_

I felt that familiar cool breeze. Feeling a little more secure, I didn't let it make me shudder.

"Yes?" I managed to choke out. But there was no answer. I sighed as I stood up glancing down at the sleeping man in front of me. I gasped slightly as I noticed his expression had softened. I leaned forward to clarify that thought. Yes, it definitely had. I began to believe the ghost of the Turk was really him and that even as he slept, he was watching me… reaching out to me. Just now my emotions had affected him.

I glanced back at the clock. There would be no time to try and communicate with him again as I needed to pick Ayden up. I looked down at him one last time and before turning to leave I spoke to him again. "I'll be back later, ok?" To an outsider I might have looked foolish, but I knew he could hear me.

()

"Need help or anything, sweetie? It's getting late." I smiled down at my little redheaded son as he worked vigorously on his addition and subtraction tables. He shook his head no. I sat down at his little work table with him. We were in his play room. I had already showered and was dressed for bed.

"Are you ok, honey?" I asked gently.

He nodded.

"Tell me what's wrong." I demanded a little less gently.

"Dad…there's no way to bring him back is there? That man told me. He said that once you join the life stream there's no way back on the planet." He said sadly. I saw tears welling up in his eyes and it just broke my heart.

I nodded slowly. "He's right, Ayden. Daddy was in a bad accident…and he died." I couldn't begin to say anything else as the tears began to fall again. I stood from the chair and knelt down beside my son taking him into my arms as we both cried softly. Memories of us as a family flashed through my mind making even more tears fall.

_Flash back_

_I watched as Reno lead Ayden outside with his hands over his eyes. Ayden turned seven today and Reno promised him he'd buy him a bicycle. He had me convinced that he wasn't going to be able to get the bike. So it was even a surprise to me when I walked outside with them and saw the small, sporty blue bike sitting outside._

"_K, you ready?" Reno asked, he turned to me with a huge grin spread across his face._

_Ayden nodded eagerly. Reno quickly removed his hands and Ayden gasped._

"_Whoa cool! This one's even better than the one I picked!" he exclaimed running at the bike and hopping on the seat. It had the training wheels attached._

_Reno laughed triumphantly. "Didn't think I was gonna come through did ya, huh?" He ruffled Ayden's hair before kicking back the kick stand so that Ayden could start peddling down the side walk._

"_Course I did! You're the best, dad!"_

"_I know son, I know." He shot me a cocky grin. "Now whose cooler me or mom?" _

_I put my hands on my hips and sent Reno a mock glare._

"_You're the coolest ever!" Reno's laughter filled the air and I sat on the porch steps watching Ayden ride. By the end of the night he was already attempting to ride without the training wheels. _

_End_

I sniffed and tried to compose myself a little so I could offer some comforting words. "It'll be ok sweetie. We'll be ok." I whispered stroking his hair and squeezing him tightly. I felt his hands gripping the back of my T-shirt as he held me tighter. For the second time today I lost it and cried hard.

Eventually Ayden and I composed ourselves and I made him shower and get ready for bed. I gave him a good night kiss and returned to my bedroom. I didn't feel like trying to contact the Turk. I was just so drained from today all I wanted to do was sleep. As soon as I passed the guest room and placed my hand on the doorknob to my bedroom. I heard footsteps walking up to the door from the guestroom. I swallowed hard. The next sound I heard was someone trying the door handle. I had the door locked from the outside. I gasped loudly as suddenly there was a loud bang, followed by the clank of the door handle hitting the wood floor. The smell of gunpowder filled the air. The screeching sound of the old door opening sent chills down my spine and I instantly broke out in a cold sweat. I could barely breathe I was so afraid. Finally after a minute of standing there in fear, I turned slowly to see what had caused all the noise. Crimson eyes met my brown ones and that was the last thing I saw before fainting.


	6. Awakened

Oops I missed another Thurs. lol and this is a short, confusing, and sucky chapter. Itll make more sense in the next one tho, next Thursday. Oh and by the way I do plan on finishing my other stories and soon making a third and final sequel to my story Touch of Your Flesh.

**Wake Me Up**

**Awakened**

I awoke keeping my eyes closed against the bright light of the sun outside. Slowly, I opened them and blinked a few times until they were used to the light. My eyes widened once I realized I was lying on the guest bed.

"You and your child need to leave before you become a part of the nightmare." A deep voiced sounded from across the room. I turned to see the man leaning against the doorframe. His arms crossed and his head tilted forward so that most of his face was hidden beneath his cloak. Where he stood was the only part of the room unlit by the sunlight.

"But…you asked for our help, didn't you?" I sat up and stared at the man. He didn't move nor did he respond. "Sir?" I asked after about a minute of silence. I looked down at the bed, feeling a bit awkward after he didn't answer. I looked back at the clock and realized it was past time for Ayden to have left for school. I stood slowly and hesitantly approached the doorway wondering how I was going to slip past this man without fainting again.

The man didn't seem to notice he was in my path. I cleared my throat as I walked closer to him. "I need to see my son off to school, excuse me." I said as I slid past him. He stood quite a bit taller than I, so my shoulder merely brushed his forearm that was crossed over his chest. I ran to Ayden's bedroom to find him not there. My next stop was to the kitchen. There he was eating a bowl of cereal. He was dressed and his backpack was sitting on the chair next to him ready to go.

"Good morning, sweetie. Sorry I slept so late, I don't know what came over me." I said with a slight laugh.

"He's awake." Ayden whispered. "I saw him this morning." He kept looking towards the doorway as if expecting him to walk into the room.

I nodded. "Indeed so maybe now we can convince him to leave us in peace." I smiled before giving my son a love pat on the shoulder. He continued to eat his cereal and then walked to the door.

"I can make it on my own." He said before walking out.

"Wait, honey!" I hurried to the door and bent down to give him a hug. "Be careful."

"I will." He said before taking off. I stood at the door watching my little red head run until I could no longer see him. I sighed softly as I turned around and closed the door behind me. I gasped when I turned and faced _him._

I tried to take a side step, but he moved in front of me. "You can't stay here."

"I have nowhere else to go." I felt my voice breaking as my emotions hit me again. I pushed by him and hurried into the kitchen to make breakfast for myself. While the biscuits were in the oven, I quickly called Tifa's place.

"Hello?" Cloud answered the phone.

"Cloud? He's awake." I whispered. I looked around the kitchen making sure he hadn't followed me. "He doesn't want us here."

I heard him repeat what I said to Tifa and her scream. "Is she alone in that house with him!?"

"We'll be right there." He said hanging up on me. The oven beeped, scaring me out of my skin. I took a few deep breaths before opening it and retrieving my food. I sat at the table alone eating and by the time I was done I heard someone knocking at the door. I hurried to the door knowing it was Tifa and Cloud.

I barely cracked the door open before the two of them came barging into the house. Cloud drew his sword and Tifa held up her fists. "Where is he?" Cloud asked, his eyes darting around the room as he and Tifa slowly made their way into the room. Both of them were practically spinning around in circles as they kept their eyes moving around the room.

"Show yourself!" Cloud yelled.

Suddenly I felt a presence behind me. Before I could turn to clarify if there was someone there, an arm came around my stomach almost painfully tight. I grunted in response. I then felt cold metal against the side of my head.

"Let her go!" Cloud pointed his sword at the man behind me.

"Please don't hurt me. We'll leave, I promise we'll leave just let me go." I begged digging my fingers into his leather clad arm. That didn't even budge it. The man didn't move. I tilted my head back so that I could look up at him. His crimson eyes glared harshly at Cloud. "Please…" I said again staring up at him. He dropped his eyes to mine only for a second before looking back at Tifa.

"Leave." The dangerous tone he spoke in shook them both. Cloud dropped his sword and Tifa lowered her hands.

"Are you going to let her go?" Tifa asked placing her hands on her hips. Cloud raised his sword again slightly when the man didn't respond fast enough. I felt the cool metal leave the side of my head, but the grip around my waist tightened.

I looked back at Cloud and Tifa nodding at them to show I was ok. Tifa and Cloud slowly back out of the house neither of their eyes leaving the man's. Once the front door shut, he let go of me.

"Why did you do that?" I asked him rubbing my sore stomach. His eyes were fixed on the window where he could see Cloud and Tifa still standing outside. "Look, will you just tell me what's going on here?" I was starting to get annoyed with his unresponsiveness.

"I told you." He said turning away and walking towards the staircase.

"I don't understand." I called out to his back. He stopped right at the bottom of the staircase and turned to me.

"Are me and my son in danger?" I asked him, and if he couldn't answer that simple question I knew I would snap.

He gave a sideways nod. "Maybe your son more than you." I followed him up the stairs.

"What do you mean?" I asked getting frustrated. When he didn't answer I grabbed his arm. He flung his arm hard, accidently hitting me in the face. I rolled down the stairs and hit the wood floor.

"_Marcella! Follow me!"_

_I saw Reno up ahead waving at me. I pushed myself up off the ground and ran towards him. I kept running but never seemed to progress any closer to him._

"_Come on slow poke!"_

_I grunted in frustration and broke out into a full sprint. Suddenly Reno disappeared. I heard dark laughter from behind me and a gold claw reached out for me. I backed away stumbling and falling on my rear. I turned to see a demon hovering over me._

"_Come on, Marcella." The dark voice echoed. _

"_No…" It's gold claw clasped around my ankle dragging me towards it. "No!!"_

I gasped and slapped away the hand that reached out to me. I looked up to see that man sitting on the floor next to me. My eyes landed on the gold claw that covered his left arm. I scooted away from him. "What are you?"

He sighed. "A shell that used to be human, and a host to the demon Chaos. He is what causes the nightmares. If you allow him to he'll take over your mind and haunt you forever. The Turk you see… is a past image of what I used to be, but it's not me it's him."

"The breeze…and the cold hands…"

"Him." He answered standing up. He held out his hand to me, I took it and stood as well.

"But you're awake now, can't you stop him?"

"Only to a certain point. I told you I'm no longer human, I don't have…feelings…like I used to. Sometimes it's hard to tell his desires from my own." He crossed his arms and turned away. I figured that was probably the most talking I was going to get out of him today.

He progress up the stairs once more. "I would leave, but I cannot. You, however should consider it." With that he was up the stairs and into the guest bedroom. I sat down on the new couch in our living room and held my spinning head. After trying to make sense of all that happened, I decided to stay for now.


	7. The Definition of a Monster

I know yeah, I skipped ANOTHER Thursday, but it was thanksgiving! That sort of gives me an excuse… lol

**Wake Me Up**

**The Definition of a Monster**

I didn't move from the living room couch the entire day. Ayden insisted he could make it home on his own. So not only did I have what the man had said to me to worry about, I was worried to death if he'd return home ok.

After three o'clock, I stood by the window waiting to see that little red head popping up over the hill. There was less daylight in Nibelhiem so by four o'clock it was already growing dark.

"You should go looking for him…" I jumped slightly at hearing that deep voice. I spun around to see him standing there, eyes fixed on the sky outside.

"Any minute he'll…" _Show up._ I finished the sentence in my head. The dark man behind me sighed heavily.

"Close the window. Should the moonlight bathe over me, you'll see why it is not safe for you to be here." It was funny how loud his footsteps appeared to be as he walked away, yet I hadn't heard a sound when he first approached me.

"Why do you always do that?" I asked. I was always late responding to him. Maybe it was just easier talking to his back.

"Hm?" He turned his head to the side, but didn't face me.

"Drop hints here and there, leaving me confused." I said softly walking towards him. He turned slowly. I regretted meeting eyes with him as my knees threatened to give out. It wasn't the kind of 'head over heels' weakness, but almost a fear. His eyes were so intense.

"What's there to be confused about, Marcella? I'm a monster. Monsters are capable of horrible things, therefore you should not stay within the presence of one." I flinched at the use of my name. He said it so naturally as if he'd known me so well. Perhaps he did, all that time he spent 'sleeping' while his alter ego invaded my brain.

"I see…" My voice was nothing but a whisper. The man's eyes darted from mine to the door. A second after, my son came walking through it. He stopped short looking up the tall man behind me. His blue green eyes then met mine.

"Hi mom." He said faintly passing by me. "Hi Vincent." He didn't look at the man as he passed by him and walked up the stairs to his bedroom.

"Vincent?" I asked, clarifying that that was indeed his name. He nodded and spoke again. "Valentine."

"Oh." I said awkwardly. It wasn't like I had to introduce myself. I moved passed him following my son into his room.

"How was school?" I asked him taking a seat on his blue bedspread. He shrugged opening his backpack and sitting all his school books on his desk. "How did you know that man's name?" I whispered to him.

"He can hear you. He hears everything." Ayden said quickly turning to me.

"Honey, what's wrong? You're not acting like my little Aid." I smiled and tried to manage a laugh. He sighed loudly and sat down at his desk not saying a word to me. I walked over to him and tried to pat his hair, but at an unnatural speed, he grabbed my wrist and pushed me away.

"Don't touch me."

"Sweetie…" I backed up against the wall looking down at my bruised wrist. There was no way that strength was his. I left his room so he wouldn't see me crying.

I sat down on my bed, trying to stop the tears. I couldn't believe what was happening to my perfect life. Eventually I composed myself again and went downstairs to fix dinner. I wondered should I bother to fix enough for Vincent. I didn't want to be rude, but I wasn't sure if he deserved to be treated kindly… He…or the demon, _someone_ had done something to Ayden.

"Aid, hun… dinner's ready." He was still seated at his desk.

"I'm not hungry."

I sighed loudly and tried to be strong. "Ayden Marshal!"

He turned to me. "What mom?" he stared at me blankly.

"I spent the last hour cooking dinner and you _will_ eat." I put my hand on my hip as I glared at him. He stood up and walked past me slowly.

"Fine." That monotone voice wasn't like him… I followed him into the kitchen watching him closely. Vincent stood in the hallway leaned up against the door of the guest bedroom.

I stopped near him. "There's dinner…"

At first he looked as if he were about to decline, then he nodded and followed me down the stairs and into the kitchen. Dinner was disturbingly quiet. Vincent and I both kept watching Ayden and after he left the room I turned to him.

"You know what's wrong with him, don't you?"

Vincent nodded. "Chaos has corrupted him." He spoke as if that were the most normal thing in the world.

"Well how do I stop it?!" I exclaimed. Vincent sighed heavily.

"Your son has to stop it himself." He stood carrying his plate to the kitchen sink. He then did something unexpected. He unbuckled his cloak and swept it over the back of the chair before picking up mine and Ayden's empty plates and taking them to the sink. I caught a glimpse of his face as he leaned over me to grab my plate. He couldn't be a monster… His features were too flawless. I sat at the table trying to take in all that was happening. "There's nothing I can do?"

"If you keep trying to interfere…he'll keep rejecting you. He has to want control of his own mind." Vincent spoke calmly as he scrubbed away at the dishes.

I wiped away a stray tear. "Why is this happening…" It was a question to myself that didn't need a reply. Vincent finished the dishes in silence and dried his hand, putting his glove back on. He wiped his metal arm dry and put his cloak back on.

"Thank you for the dinner." He said making his exit. I sat at the dinner table trying not to cry.

The next day while Ayden was at school, I hung out at Tifa's new bar. I chose not to tell her what was going on. I needed a place where I could go and pretend like everything was ok, and that's what I did. I even had a few drinks and that's not something I'd done for years. However, that moment ended and I had to return home again. I greeted Ayden when he came home, but didn't ask him any questions or follow him to his room. Vincent advised me it was best to leave him alone and not speak to him.

Tonight for the first time I felt ready to look back at old photos, so I sat in the library flipping through Ayden's baby pictures and really old photos of Reno and I when we were back in high school. I felt a presence and looked up to see Vincent browsing the books in the library. He picked an old album that was literally covered in dust. He sat down at the same table as me and began flipping through it. I looked over and gasped when I saw the Turk.

"How long ago was that?" I asked breaking the harsh silence in the room.

"Thirty years ago."

"Oh." I looked back down at my own photos. I couldn't help but smile looking at all of Reno's goofy faces. I felt eyes on me, but didn't dare look up.

_Never lose that smile. _

I finally looked up at Vincent. "Did you say something?"

He shook his head no, but there was a glint in his eyes. Perhaps if I could see under that cloak, I would have been able to read his expression better. He closed his book of memories and stood, leaving the room.

_I'll try not to._ I thought knowing he could probably hear it. I didn't know how much I liked my thoughts being read, but I couldn't worry too much about caring.


	8. Escaping the Nightmare

**BTW **I probably should have said this at the start of the story, but Vincent doesn't have any protomateria or anything like that. So he doesn't really have any control of Chaos.

**Wake Me Up**

**Escaping the Nightmare**

Days past and it was now the weekend. Ayden only continued to get worse and I began to question the way Vincent had asked me to handle the situation. I leaned up against the doorframe at four in the morning watching my son toss and turn.

"I told you this place causes nightmares."

I both jumped and gasped at the same time before sending a glare over my shoulder. Vincent stood there watching Ayden. I stared at him for the longest time wondering why he seemed to have such an interest in my son.

_I'm no longer human, I don't have…feelings…like I used to. Sometimes it's hard to tell his desires from my own._

I remembered hearing him say that. "What does Chaos want with my son?" I crossed my arms and stood in front of Vincent partially blocking his view of my son. His eyes flickered down to mine before returning to Ayden.

"Answer me." I whispered in a dangerously low voice. Though without Reno, I believed I could never be strong, but if he were here he'd be disappointed in how weak I was being. My son is suffering and this _demon_ is to blame! If I had to, I'd find my old weapons and materia and fight.

Vincent's crimson eyes finally landed on mine. I narrowed my eyes at him before pushing back forcefully. He seemed to be shocked by the strength this female in front of him had. He staggered back before quickly regaining balance. I took another step towards him only to be stopped by his gold claw clasping around my neck.

"I wouldn't Marcella. As I've told you…" his claw tightening around my neck piercing my skin. I tried to breath only succeeding in letting a tiny bit of air in. "I'm not a human, your life…your son's life… mean nothing to me." He threw me to the floor and took his spot back in the doorway watching my son suffer in his nightmares.

I made my way into the bathroom to examine the cuts he put on my neck. After applying some medication, I went to my room and put on a black turtle neck to cover them. I put on some jeans and brushed my hair. I retrieved my two crystal daggers from under the bed and hid them under my pant leg. As soon as Ayden woke up we were leaving. I'd have Cloud take us all the way to Cosmo Canyon where I could have Ayden examined by a psychological doctor I knew there. I hurried back down the hallway to find Vincent gone. I sighed with relief and walked into Ayden's bedroom.

"Aid, honey." I knelt down beside his bed and shook him lightly. "Come on, Cloud's taking us to Cosmo Canyon to visit Nanaki."

He groaned and rolled away from me. "Aid, sweetie… don't you want to get out? We've been cooped up in this house all week."

He sat up and roughly pushed past me as he sat up and went to his dresser. I stood outside and waited for him to get dressed. Once I saw that he was ready, I snatched up his hand and nearly dragged him out of his room and down the hall.

"Where's Vincent?" Ayden asked pulling his hand out of mine.

"I don't know, let's go."

"We can't leave him." He said looking around the house.

"Ayden, let's go." I said firmly taking a hold of his hand again. He ripped his hand out of mine and glared at me.

"No." he growled.

I walked up to him, drew my hand back and slapped him across his face. It wasn't my hardest as my intention wasn't to hurt him. "Don't talk back to me. Now I said let's go."

Again I felt a presence behind me. Before I could turn around I felt a gun press into my back. "I gave you a chance to leave, but you didn't take it Marcella." I quickly bent down grabbing my weapons from under my pant leg and spun around cutting Vincent's face. The sight of blood seemed to shock both Vincent and Ayden. In their state of shock I took the opportunity to snatch Ayden's hand back up and run.

_Marcella you'll never avoid me. _

"Shut up, demon." I looked over my shoulder to see Vincent standing in the window. He said before that he _couldn't_ leave this place. So once we were outside I didn't bother running anymore, but walked into town at a normal pace.

"Marcie! What happened?!" Was Tifa's immediate excuse when I came into her bar at five thirty in the morning. I lead Ayden over to a booth and handed him a menu to look at.

"That man attacked me." I said, my voice cracked and I started crying. "And that demon inside him, somehow is possessing Ayden. I need Cloud to take us to Cosmo Canyon. I need him to see the doctor there." I wiped my tears away and looked over at my son making sure he wasn't trying to escape. Tifa looked like she had just woken up and it took a few minutes before what I had told her actually registered in her brain.

"Oh dear Gods! Cloud!!! Cloud!" Tifa walked towards the staircase yelling. Cloud came stumbling down the stairs as fast as he can probably thinking the worst.

"What, what's happened?"

"Cloud, can you take us to Cosmo Canyon?"

"Sure, but why? What's going on?" He asked running his fingers through his wild hair. It didn't look much different now just waking up, as it did at any other time of the day.

"That man, or should I say that demon has possessed Ayden. He's been acting really strange and doesn't want me touching him. He's even tried to hit me." More tears ran down my face and I wiped them away as best as I could.

Cloud looked past me at Ayden. He'd always had a sixth sense when it came to things like this. He walked over and knelt down by the booth Ayden sat at. "Hey, kid."

Ayden didn't respond but kept reading the menu.

"Wanna go for a ride on my bike?" Cloud asked. My normal Ayden would have jumped up and beat Cloud to the door for a ride on his motorcycle.

"No." Ayden answered. Cloud stood up looking down at my son in shock. He looked back up at me and nodded.

"Ok, let's go." He said. Tifa quickly came out from behind the bar and gave Cloud a hug and a quick kiss.

"You guys be safe." She said looking at us both seriously.

"We wi…"

Suddenly I felt very light headed and before I knew it everything went black.

"_I'd do anything for you, you know that." I looked down to see the Turk Vincent kneeling in front of me. Though he looked up at me, his eyes seemed to be looking through me._

"_I just…can't." A female voice sobbed from behind me. I spun around to see a woman there. I recognized her from Ayden's drawings. _

"_Lucrecia please… I __**love**__ you." The Turk begged squeezing her hands. I stepped back looking at the both of them._

"_After what I did…it'll never be the same. No!" She tore her hands away from his and ran away leaving the Turk. He pounded his fist into the ground. I attempted to run away but I backed into someone else… The demon Vincent._

"_Get away from me!" His gold claw wrapped around my wrist and yanked me close to him._

"_You'll never escape the nightmare." He said before his eyes began to glow a golden color. His body transformed into that of what I knew as Chaos. He roared and showed his fangs, slashing at me with his claws, but he couldn't hurt me. I shielded myself against the ghost of the monster. "My suffering…you'll share…my suffering."_

"Marcie!!" Tifa screamed tossing water in my face. I gasped for air and sat up quickly. "Are you ok?" Tifa asked.

I nodded. "Please, Cloud let's go. I've got to get out of this town."

Cloud grabbed Ayden and the three of us left the bar hopping on Cloud's bike. Ayden sat in the middle of us and I held on tight to him letting my tears fall into his bright red hair. Reno, where are you? I thought as more tears fell. I need you more than anything right now.

_He's gone and he'll never return. _

_Leave me alone, Vincent!_

_Vincent has nothing to do with this. My name is __**Chaos.**_


	9. Trying to Help

**Wake Me Up**

**Trying to Help**

Though I knew trying to sleep would be useless, I tried as hard as I could. It had been three days since Ayden and I arrived at Cosmo Canyon. The Doctor allowed my son and I to live with him for the time being, but I hadn't seen my son's face in the three days we were here. I kept myself closed up alone in the spare bedroom. Not to say that I felt completely alone… _He_ was still here.

I sat at the end of the bed with my legs pulled back against my chest. I worried for the longest time what was going on with my son, but I couldn't stand the sight of Ayden in the state that he was in. Every time he looked at me, it was a look of pure hatred for me bringing him here. Out of the corner of my eye I could see that blue suit standing in the doorway. If I ignore it, it'll go away. I told myself resting my chin on my knees and staring ahead at the TV. All reception, phones, TV, radio everything was bad in Cosmo Canyon so I was basically watching static with the occasional picture of a couple frolicking at the beach.

My eyes were heavier than ever now after not sleeping for the past three days. Before long I lost the battle and fell asleep regardless of the nightmares I knew awaited me.

_I walked down a dark corridor towards the sounds of scraping knives or scalpels. I finally came upon an opening, only to pull myself back into the corridor. A corpse lay naked on a metal table while a scientist operated on it. The sounds of a separate set of footsteps alarmed me and I turned sharply towards the other end of the hall. _

_The woman from Ayden's pictures stood there with tears running down her face as she peered around the corner. She shook her head and sighed whispering to herself. "I never meant it to happen this way…Vincent."_

_Vincent!? I looked back at what seemed like a dead body on the metal table. I moved from the corridor and into the room knowing these people couldn't see me anyway. It was him! _

"…_Galian… Hellmasker…" I watched as the man roughly stabbed a needle into Vincent's veins. He forced the fluid into his veins and I watched as they got so big I thought they were going to explode. Unable to watch anymore of this I ran back to the corridor. An arm reached out of the darkness and grabbed me pulling me back._

"_Marcella…"_

"_No!" I tried to pull away, but I couldn't. I looked up into the face of the arm that held me back. "Vincent?"_

_He nodded and gently took my other hand with his left claw. _

"_I don't want to see anymore of this! Make it stop!" I could still hear scalpels scrapping and other disturbing noises along with the soft cries of the woman who watched. _

"_I told you not to stay in that house too long or you'll be a part of the nightmare. I'm sorry." He slowly let go of my arms and continued down the corridor. I followed him until we came upon a bright light. _

I squinted into the sunlight that poured on my face. I sat up quickly looking around the room. Today would be the fourth day of Ayden's treatment… I decided I would try to see him again. That is… if he wanted anything to do with me at all. I made my way back to the room my son was being kept in. He laid on a sheetless bed with all sorts of wires taped to his head. Those eyes he inherited from his father were wide open, although he wasn't moving and was barely breathing. I slowly walked over to the bed as I did so, his eyes shifted towards me. I smiled down at him and to my relief he smiled back at me.

"Mommy?" he asked, trying to sit up, but the short wires taped to his head jerked the machine and in return jerked Ayden back down.

"Don't move, sweetie." I said gently brushing the little bit of forehead that was still exposed under all the tape and wires.

"He needs our help, mommy… He doesn't want to be in that house anymore." I nodded pretending I understood what he was talking about.

"Don't worry about it, honey. Mom'll go back and check on him later. Everyone's going to be ok. You just rest now, ok. You've been very sick." I kissed his cheek and stood by his bed staring down at my son, happy that he was ok. He gave a faint smile in return and closed his eyes. I turned around and gasped to see the doctor standing there.

"Sorry, didn't want to interrupt." He said with a smile. I shook my head no.

"Um... I… I think I'm going to go back to Nibelhiem. I need to make sure everything's ok in that house before I return there with my son." I said looking back at Ayden who had already fallen sleep. The doctor nodded.

"By the time you return, your son's mental health should be a hundred percent back to normal. Though, some of the nightmares he's been having… may still be in his mind. It may result in a little bit of paranoia, but nothing some good coaxing can't get rid of."

I nodded to show I understood and returned to my room where I grabbed the very few belongings I brought with me and left. I didn't want to bother Cloud again so I hitch hiked back home taking odd rides from people. I knew I could protect myself if they meant any danger to me.

I didn't get back to Nibelhiem until early the next morning. It would be a little less scary than re entering that house at night, I thought. I walked up to the mansion slowly staring up at the place. A heavy fog hung in the air around the house. I pushed open the unlocked gate and hurried to the door. The faster I get in here the less chance there will be that I'll chicken out and run the other way. I cringed as I slammed the door behind me a little harder than I wanted to. He knew I was here now.

I swallowed hard as I approached the staircase. My heart had never beat this hard and this fast in my life. A shaky hand grabbed hold of the ball on top of the banister as I took my first step. It creaked loudly under my weight, startling me slightly. I took a deep breath and took the next step and the next and then I heard his voice.

"Marcella."

I spun around to see him standing at the bottom of the staircase. I made eye contact with him but didn't say anything. He crossed his arms and glared at me waiting for me to respond.

"I… look Ayden said something about you needing our help. I'm here to help you. I'll do whatever you want me to do, just please leave our home. This is the only place we have now." I put my hands behind my back ready to pull my daggers out of my back pockets if I had to.

He blinked slowly and in that split second his eyes were off mine, I noticed the cut I had made on his face was black and blue now and looked infected. I walked down a few steps so that I was standing on the last step right before him. The step I was on made me almost eye level with the taller man. I reached out and touched his face.

Vincent flinched and raised his gauntlet ready to strike me. I ducked quickly and his gauntlet hit the wall. I watched as pieces of gold metal hit the floor. I looked up to see blood running down his broken weapon from where pieces of the broken metal drove into his real hand. Once again the sight of blood seemed to mesmerize him. I gently grabbed his gauntlet. "Let me help you, Vincent." I whispered. His eyes flicked from the blood to my face. I grabbed his right hand with my other hand and pulled at him so that he knew to follow me up the stairs. I was surprised he actually obeyed and followed me into the bathroom where I made him sit down on the edge of the bathtub while I looked through the cabinets for some bandages. "You might want to try and pull that thing off your hand."

Vincent pulled it off dragging the sharp edges across the rest of his fingers cutting them as well. "Careful!" I quickly dabbed some medicine on a paper towel and began to wipe the blood away. I felt his eyes on me as I cleaned his cut up hand. I glanced up at his face and smiled. He didn't respond to me in anyway. After I bandaged his hand, I looked at his face. "Can I?" I asked placing my fingers on the first buckle of his cloak. Vincent's good hand moved up and pulled down the collar so I could have better access to his infected cut.

"Be still ok, I don't want to accidently get this stuff in your eyes." I said as I grabbed a bottle of medicine that gave instructions to drop three droplets out of the squeeze bottle onto the wound. I did just that and watched the liquid bubble up on his infected cut. "I'm sorry I did that to you."

Vincent frowned and furrowed his eyebrows. "What's wrong?"

"You needn't be so nice to me. I… hurt you." I wasn't wearing a turtle next today and the scratches he left on my neck were painfully visible. I looked at myself in the mirror then back at him.

"It's ok… Remember that wasn't really you. It was the demon right?" I turned to him.

"There's no difference he is I and I am him."

"That's not true, Vincent." I smiled at him. I said that both for his benefit and mine. I noticed the medicine had stopped bubbling and cleared up. Next I took a wet cloth and prepared to clean it well. My first swipe was a bit rough and Vincent jerked his head back. I gasped as I felt his good hand grabbed the back of my shirt preventing himself from falling backwards into the tub. This closed the distance between us and we stared at each other for a while. The tips of our noses were millimeters from touching. I watched as his eyes slowly closed and then I felt his hand slid up my back. Before I knew it I felt the coldest, but softest lips press against mine. My heart felt as if it were going to beat out of my chest. Almost like a reflex I turned my head to the side inviting him to deepen the kiss. He didn't. Instead I felt his hand slid down to my rear and grab a hold of my dagger.


	10. Getting Saved

**Wake Me Up**

**Getting Saved**

As his hand tightened around my left dagger, I reached for my right. "Why are you doing this?" I whispered against his lips. I opened my eyes and at the same time he did as well. I did all I could to try to read those crimson eyes but their messages were hidden. I slowly pulled my right dagger from my pocket. As soon as he sensed the movement, he ripped my left one from my pocket. Dagger met dagger as I avoided a slit throat. I pushed as hard as I could to keep the shimmering sharp object away but his strength was far greater than mine. I threw myself down on the floor. I gasped as I watched him lift the weapon to throw it. I rolled out of the way missing a potential fatal stab by mere inches. However, the two daggers were now back in their owners hands as I yanked it out of the wood floor.

"Don't move." I warned him pointing my two weapons at him as I walked towards him. He stood against my warning and reached for his holster. I quickly made an escape. I screamed as I heard the first shot being fired. Vincent came out of the bathroom, his face still completely void of any emotion, and pointed his gun at me not even hesitating to fire. I took a dangerous leap off the banister and landed not so gracefully behind the couch. Bullet holes tore through the back of the couch in front of me as I scooted away from it to the kitchen door. I bolted through the kitchen and out the back door into the backyard where I knew I was safe. I moved away from the house and sat down on the ground examining the knee that I had busted open during the fall from the second story. I felt his eyes on me and I knew he was watching me from the kitchen window. I'd give him a few minutes to get control of himself again before I would return.

_Marcella… Come back please! I'm sorry…_

I shuddered as that cold feeling came over me. I glanced around the yard suddenly feeling suspicious.

Hands clamped down on my shoulders almost sending me into cardiac arrest. My shriek could probably be heard all the way back in Costa del Sol.

"Boo! Hahahaha."

I turned around to see that little brat standing there. "What are you doing in our yard? That's trespassing, you know."

The boy was doubled over in laughter so hard, I doubt he heard me at all. Once he finally stopped he looked around. "Ayden hasn't been at school so I got worried. He's my best friend… really my only friend."

"Hmph wonder why…" I muttered under my breath. "Ayden's sick. Right now he's seeing a doctor in Cosmo Canyon."

"Oooohh…" The boy said rocking back and forth on his heels and swinging his arms. "Tell him I said get better quick! Schools lame without him." He took off running and I let a long slow sigh out. Stupid kid…

I wiped the back of my hand across my forehead. That kid scared me so bad I broke out into a sweat! Feeling as if maybe enough time had passed, I went back inside through the front door.

"Vincent?!" I called out not wanting to sneak up on him yet worrying he'd sneak up on me. I walked all around downstairs, but didn't see him. I then checked upstairs leaving the guest room last. I slowly pushed open the door and saw him sitting on the bed with his gun in his lap. I swallowed hard.

"Vincent…"

"Marcella." He replied in acknowledgement.

"Are you ok now?" I stepped inside the room shutting the door behind me. I turned to see him staring up at me.

"I'll never be _OK._" He looked back down at his gun making my stomach fluttered a little wondering what he might do.

I moved closer to him and sat down next to him. I took a bold move in reaching for his gun. That was a wrong move indeed. I screamed as I barely missed a backhanded blow with the gun in his hand. I grabbed my dagger and wasting no time activated the Sleep materia I had inserted inside and stabbed him in the leg instantly sending him into slumber. His top half collapsed on the bed, while his knees hit the wood floor. I let out a sigh of relief. I took the gun from him first and quickly ran into my bedroom to hide it. I went for a place I knew a man like him wouldn't go… my underwear drawer. I dug deep through the thousands of panties and buried it as far as I could.

I went back and pulled his body up on the bed, even setting a pillow behind his head. Staring at this dangerous man, I let curiosity get the best of me and the next thing I knew I had pulled his bandana off and unbuckled his cloak. How could this beautiful being be so hateful? Why would he want to hurt anybody? I asked myself as I stroked his soft cheek.

_Because he's evil!_ A voice said from behind me. I looked back to see the Turk standing there. It was then I realized that while Vincent was asleep the demon had more freedom. I turned away from the Turk and cuddled up close to Vincent's body.

"You're not evil. You can't be." I whispered to him. Tears stung my eyes as I rested my head on his chest. Longing for a pair of masculine arms to hold me, comfort me, and assure me that everything would be ok. I closed my eyes as I huddled even closer to Vincent pretending I was lying in bed next to Reno again.

For a while, it was nearly convincing, but I couldn't fool myself for long. But hours later I did find myself falling asleep.

_I woke up in my bed… __**my**__ bed in __**my**__ home. I looked around the room wondering if he was here. _

"_Reno?" I called thinking maybe he was in the bathroom. _

"_He's not here" A voice said next to me. I looked down in the spot that was previously empty to see Vincent there. His long raven hair was spread out over his bare shoulders and concealing most of his chest. _

"_V…Vincent?"_

_He nodded._

"_Why…what's going on?"_

_I suddenly realized that we were both nude here in this bed together. He moved towards me. "Marcella if you want to help me… this is what it will take." He said before pressing his lips against mine. "Reno can no longer exist in your mind."_

_The door flew open and Reno hurried in. "Hey! Get off her yo!" In a flash he held his weapon high ready to electrocute Vincent. He looked at me as if asking me if I was going to let him do it. I looked back at Reno he moved in slow motion as he brought his weapon down closer and closer to Vincent's bare flesh. _

"_Are you going to save me, Marcella?" He asked. I squeezed my eyes shut afraid to do anything._

I opened my eyes and this time without a start. I was so used to having weird dreams in this place… My body tensed as I felt something caressing my upper arm softly. That couldn't be… I looked up to see Vincent staring up at the ceiling. His arm was now around me protectively, his fingers lightly caressing my upper arm. Sensing I was awake, he looked down at me.

"I could have killed you in your sleep." He said staring me right in the eye. "The demon in me wants you dead so badly."

I blinked. "Why?"

He sighed. "Do you remember what you dreamed just now?"

I nodded. Vincent didn't say anything else. "What about it?"

He still didn't respond. I sighed knowing he was going to leave me clueless. I pondered over my dream last night trying to decipher what he was talking about. Suddenly it all made sense. He needed me to love him completely without thinking of Reno and he'd be saved. I swallowed hard knowing how difficult that would be. Especially with him trying to kill me every second. Of course the demon wants me dead I'm a threat to his existence.

I watched Vincent closely for awhile while he stared absentmindedly at the ceiling again. "I understand…"

"Do you?"

I nodded again. "I'll try… Vincent, but you've got to try harder too."

He nodded. "You have Cerberus, don't you?"

"What?"

"The gun."

I laughed softly and nodded.

"Take it out of the house where I cannot reach it. With a powerful weapon like that in my hands you're lucky to still be alive even now." He looked at me seriously. He sat up and nudged me slightly. "Do it now before he reads your mind and finds out where it is."

I hurried out of the guest room shutting the door behind me. I did what he said and took the gun all the way to Cloud and Tifa's place.


	11. Battered and Bruised

**Wake Me Up**

**Battered and Bruised**

Cloud offered to go pick Ayden up for me once the doctor called informing me that he could come home. He would be staying with the Strifes, rooming with Denzel until I sorted things out around the house. I was so anxious to see that little redhead; I didn't know what to do with myself for the four hours I would have to wait for Cloud to return.

I decided to kill a few hours and check on Vincent…

The house was disturbingly quiet as always as I first entered. "Vincent!" I called out, letting him know I was here. I didn't know whether or not it was a good thing for him to know I was here.

Instead of searching for him, I stood in the living room wondering if he would come to me. I walked around slowly observing the place. Everything was still clean and all in its place. The only thing that had moved was the photo album that sat in the shelf under the entertainment center. I smiled knowing that Vincent must have been looking through it.

I screamed as a cold hand grabbed my arm. Vincent dropped my arm as soon as he touched it noticing my reaction. I cleared my throat and sighed. "You scared me." I manage to choke out with a slight chuckle.

"I'm sorry." He said quickly.

I smiled up at him. He looked uneasy and avoided my eyes. I looked down at the floor thinking of something to say. "Have you been doing alright?"

He nodded, his eyes remained on the floor.

"That's good. Ayden's better now. He's coming home later today."

"He can't." his eyes quickly darted to mine.

I glanced up at him. "I…I know. He'll be staying with the Strifes." I noticed a small look of confusion cross his face. "Uh… the people who were about to attack you that day…" I offered chuckling softly.

He merely nodded. I glanced down and saw the dirty bandages on his left hand. "Here let's get these bandages cha…" The moment I reached for him, he lifted that wounded hand and struck me with the hardest backhand I'd ever felt before in my life. My landing wasn't as hard as it could have been. I flew back on the couch.

Vincent gasped and hurried to my side. "Marcella… I…"

I shook my head. "No, it's ok… I know that wasn't you." Tears flowed down my throbbing cheek. I flinched as I felt slightly trembling fingers touch my face. I looked up into Vincent's blood red eyes. I'm sure he was able to see the fear in my eyes of not knowing just what he was about to do next. He crouched down in front of the couch moving his fingers clumsily from my face into my hair. I winced as I felt his fingers tighten around my locks. I closed my eyes tightly half expecting him to rip my hair right out of my head. Suddenly I felt those cold, almost dead lips against mine and his grip loosened.

After the lifeless kiss he placed on my lips, he backed away and lowered his head as he stayed crouched down on the floor as if waiting for me to scold him.

"C..can I just clean your hand?" I asked him quietly. He nodded and followed me to the bathroom again. He stayed very quiet as well as he was still as I cleaned up his hand and bandaged it up a bit lighter this time.

"Thank you."

I tried to smile though it hurt my face terribly. Vincent shot up almost threateningly and left the room. He met back up with me in the hallway carrying one of Ayden's mini ice packs that I had always used on his bumps and bruises. How he knew that was in the freezer was beyond me, but I couldn't help but to smile again as he pressed the cold pack against my bruised cheek. "How can you forgive me…"

"It wasn't you."

Vincent nodded. "Chaos will always be a part of me. As long as you remain here… I'll… He'll continue to hurt you." He lifted the pack briefly before applying a bit more pressure to my face.

"Until…" I looked up at him knowing he understood already what I was about to say. Chaos would continue to try to hurt me until he can no longer control Vincent. Until I completely entirely fall in love with him without thinking of Reno instead.

He nodded again. "If that is at all possible."

I looked away.

I spent the next couple of hours resting on the couch nursing my hurt wound. I just knew Tifa and Cloud would be ready to run up here and kill Vincent after seeing this. Right before I left, I went to my bedroom to apply a layer of make up to make it less noticeable. I hesitantly entered the guest room before I prepared to leave the house.

"Vincent, I'm going to go see my son." He was seated on the bed, fully clothed. His head was lowered, and eyes were closed.

"You needn't report to me. Do as you please." He said softly. I nodded.

"Just wanted to let you know…"

He sighed heavily and stood up quickly. "Perhaps you should leave and never return." I backed away from him but he came at me faster than I expected, snatching my shoulders up tightly in his grasp.

"I can't." I whimpered, trying hard to keep eye contact with those flaming garnet eyes. His grip tightened and I couldn't help the small yelp the escaped my lips. "Please don't hurt me…"

"Hurt you?" He asked shoving me into the wall behind me. "If you stay here I am going to _kill _you."

"Why? Why are you letting the demon control you?" I whispered looking deep in his eyes, hoping I could reach the real Vincent. Suddenly his expression softened.

"I don't know…" He moved away from me. "I don't know Marcella…"

I rubbed my sore arms. "I don't understand how one minute you can be Vincent and in the very next moment you're something else. There has to be some point to where you can control it. Or are you even trying?"

Vincent spun around and looked at me. "I am trying."

I sniffed and more tears poured down my face. "Well, try harder!" I stormed out of the room crying my eyes out.

* * *

I held my son tightly in my arms.

"Mommy…" He hugged me back. "What happened to me mommy? I can't remember."

"Nothing sweetie. You're ok now and that's all that matters." I buried my face into his red hair.

"Mommy why are you crying?" I pulled away and he instantly reached up to wipe away my tears. I flinched as he touched my hurt cheek. Tifa who stood by noticed this.

"What happened to your face?" she asked eyeing me closely as I stood up. "Did he hit you?"

"He… didn't mean it…"

"Didn't mean it?! Damnit… Do you really think you can help that psycho?" She looked at me seriously. Cloud came down stairs and stared at me as well.

I sighed. "What am I supposed to do?"

Cloud and Tifa exchanged glances. Tifa then turned back to me and sighed. I followed her into their bathroom where she applied a special cream that she had that instantly soothed bruises. Our young friend Yuffie would bring in all kinds of miracle cures from Wutai whenever she came down to visit. After applying it to my face, I let her see the bruises he'd put on my upper arms. Though she obviously didn't support me helping him, she knew she wouldn't be able to convince me otherwise. My heart was in it now and there was no stopping me. I knew deep down there was a innocent soul suffering in that body, I just couldn't live with myself if I abandoned him.

And so it continued.

I returned to that house to continue to try to get closer to Vincent. Nearly every night I was sent into town battered and bruised and sometimes bleeding. I couldn't explain it to my worried son, and Tifa and Cloud, though they continued to take care of me every time I came over, were getting fed up with the situation as well. I knew it would only be a matter of time before they tried to put this matter into their own hands.


	12. Its all in the Kiss

**Wake Me Up**

**It's all in the Kiss**

Every bone in my body ached as I rolled over in bed. I instantly froze when my body collided with another. I opened my eyes and stared into the face of the cause of my aches. I wondered if he was lying their plotting on smothering me in my sleep. His lips were in a tight frown, and his eyes were pointed down towards the foot of the bed. I stared at him a good few minutes before he lifted his eyes to mine. I was surprised to see that he had shed some of that heavy clothing and lay there only in his black pants and black undershirt.

"Good morning." I smiled weakly wondering what he thought of my morning appearance as I watched his eyes dart around my face. He obviously hadn't been laying there sleeping as his hair looked the same as ever and there was no sleep in his eyes.

"Vincent?" I asked pulling back in case he intended to hurt me.

His arm that was once rested at his side slid across the small space between us, pulling me across that space and into his arms. He sighed heavily into my hair. I didn't hug him back or touch him. I've learned the hard way that the moment I do that Chaos reacts. Once his lifted his face from my hair, he placed his lips against mine. He'd been getting better at kissing. Just a little bit. There still was no feeling which made me afraid that maybe I would never be able to fully love this man. Either that or he was not _putting_ any feeling into the kiss which could mean he would not be capable of fully loving me.

When our lips parted I looked up into his eyes. His kiss may not be able to draw me in, but those eyes… My heart raced as we continued to just stare at each other. Vincent, being so close, felt it. And if he didn't feel it I knew would have at least seen it beating through my shirt.

"I know you're afraid." He said simply, lowering his eyes to my chest then raising them to my face again.

"N…not of you Vincent, but of C…" My eyes widened when his hand quickly clamped over my mouth.

"Shh! Don't call his name." He released my face and placed his hand back on my waist. I nodded and kept quiet. Silence took over the room for a while, but it wasn't long until I heard the house phone ringing. I glanced back at the clock and realized it was around the time I would go eat breakfast at the Strifes' with my son before school.

"The others are probably wondering why I haven't come yet." I said quietly.

"You should go then." He said this, yet he didn't remove his arm from around me.

I nodded then showed him a slight smile. "Promise me you'll be this calm when I return?" I raised my eyebrows giving him a pleading stare.

He looked away. "Don't be afraid if I'm not."

I sat up in bed and scooted closer to him. My queen sized bed now had one side pressed against the wall so I would have to cross him to get out of the bed. Knowing this, Vincent watched me closely probably wondering how I was going to do this. Surprisingly he pulled me into his lap and held me for a moment. "Thank you so much for not giving up on me." He breathed into my ear.

I nodded quickly before pushing myself off his lap. I spun around once I reached the doorway and turned back to him. "You'll have to kill me first…" I grinned at him.

His mouth twitched and I could see a hint of a smile in his eyes. I let my gaze linger on him a while longer before I went to the bathroom to freshen up.

* * *

"How was last night?" Tifa asked as she wiped down the bar preparing for the place to open. This was a daily question nowadays.

"Well, sometime during the night he crawled into bed with me." I couldn't help but smile. She rolled her eyes.

"If he hurts you again like he did that time before, I going over their personally to kick his ass and so is Cloud." Her voice wasn't that usually bubbly tone so I knew she was serious. I nodded.

"I just want to save him…" I said rested my head on my arms.

"Marcie! You're the one that needs saving. Losing your husband, and now trying to be a single parent with no employment…" Tifa seemed genuinely angry about the situation which made me realize just what a true friend she was to me and how deeply she did care. I ended up staying with her at the bar the entire day. The weather was horrible so business was slow.

Ayden came home from school and we went straight to his room to start working on homework. "Where's Vincent?" He asked me suddenly.

"He's at home in the mansion. He's really ill right now and it's very contagious. Mom can't catch the disease because I'm immune to it so that's why I'm taking care of him." I lied pushing Ayden's book towards him hoping he'd put his focus back on the book and not ask me anymore questions.

"Oh…" he said almost sadly. I sighed wondering what kind of hell I would return to tonight…

* * *

Entering the mansion was less dramatic now. I didn't creep around worrying and wondering where he was. Whether I sneaked up on him or not didn't matter. It all depended what mood he was in or which person he was at the time. I found him in my bedroom in the same spot he sat in when I left.

"Hey." I said smiling at him. He didn't even look at me. "Have you been sitting there all day?" I walked closer to him. "Vincent?" I knew I shouldn't have… I knew it would make him mad. But I sat right beside him and placed my hand on his arm.

I was able to duck the first blow, but in that moment I took my eyes of him to duck. He hopped off the bed and grabbed my legs. He swung me around bashing my head into the wall and that's the last thing I could remember.

"Marcie? Marcie!" I looked up to see Tifa hovering over me. "Oh Gods…" Tears poured out of her eyes. My head throbbed so badly. I could see that I was still in my bedroom.

"Where's Vincent?"

"Cloud's taking care of him." She said with just enough conviction in her voice to worry me. The worry must have been obvious in my face because she sighed softly and continued. "I beat that demon nearly to death. Cloud's helping to get him patched up."

"How did you guys know what happened?" I asked.

"He called for us…" She said looking away. "I picked up the phone and at first no one would say anything and just as I was about to hang up he said, 'Please…Marcella needs your help I've hurt her,' and then hung up. But still… when I got here and saw you with your head split open like that… I just let him have it. Verbally and then when I felt like he wasn't listening I started physically." She looked back at me. "He didn't even put up a fight. He never once flinched or cried out or anything. He stood there taking every blow I threw at him. Finally, Cloud pulled me away and told me to hurry and cure you. Then he walked Vincent into the kitchen."

My eyes watered and tears rolled down my cheeks. "Can I see him?" It made me so happy to know that he came through and called help for me. He didn't let the demon kill me.

"See him? Marcella look what he's done to you!" She stood up so quickly her chair fell back and hit the floor.

Realizing that my head was the only thing that hurt me, I slowly swung my legs over the bed and stood. Tifa just looked at me with disbelief as I walked slowly towards the door. She must have used a strong cure spell on my head because though it still hurt, there wasn't even a scar left.

"Vincent…" I cried when I finally made it to the kitchen doorway. He spun around. Tifa really had messed him up pretty bad. His lip was busted and there was still dried blood on his chin. One of his eyes was swollen shut and the other was barely cracked open. She didn't touch his nose, but left a good sized knot on his head.

"Marcella… I'm sorry."

I hurried towards him not caring if he hurt me again. I threw my arms around him and buried my face into his chest. He hugged me back and very gently ran his head over my head. "Are you ok?" he asked.

I nodded. I felt him squeeze me tighter. "I'm so sorry. Please don't think I meant to do that…"

"I know you didn't." I murmured to his chest. Vincent pulled away and wiped the rest of my tears away before kissing my lips. And this time I felt it… I turned my head to the side and parted my lips to invite him in for our very first French kiss. I felt his body tense as if he were unsure of what to do next. I ran my hands through his hair and grabbed the back of his neck so he wouldn't pull away. As soon as I felt his lips part I let my tongue make the first move, teasing his lightly. I felt the tension in his body fade and he held me tight as he tilted his head and finally deepened the kiss. I really felt it this time and I didn't even have to think of Reno. Believe it or not Reno was the furthest thing from my mind at that moment. All I wanted was more of Vincent.


End file.
